Juice
03-27-2009, 08:40 PM
From the UC blog on Cincinnati.com:
UC has announced that sophomore guard Alvin Mitchell has been dismissed from the basketball program and that the school has determined that senior forward Mike Williams does not have a case that would net him a sixth year from the NCAA. Mitchell was suspended from the team in February 2008 and was held out of UC's Big East Tournament loss to DePaul on March 10. Williams, who transferred to Texas with two years of eligibility remaining, missed all of last season with a torn Achilles. Counting the transfer year that he sat out, he has exhausted his five-year window to play four years. To gain a sixth year, he would have had to show the NCAA that there was a reason beyond a lack of playing time that caused him to transfer from Texas. UC officials, after investigating his case, have determined that he doesn't have a strong enough case.
Some quotes from Mick on both guys:
On Mitchell: “Alvin made progress. He’s a good kid. It’s the hardest part about coaching when you have personal feelings for somebody the way I do for Alvin. That made this extremely hard, but at the same time I’ve go to do what’s best for our program. We have rules. This is a point where basically Alvin needs a change. I’m sure he’ll get another opportunity. Hopefully it’ll work out for him and he’ll be better for this experience. I have to do what’s best for our program. At some point, somebody becomes too much of a distraction and you have to make a change.”
On Williams: “He’s got a chance to explore his options to make money. Mike’s got a family. If we’re 99 percent sure he’s not going to win an appeal there’s no point dragging Mike’s life out. The basis for Mike’s appeal would have been he would have had to have extenuating circumstances for why he left Texas. He would have gotten the medical year. After talking to (Texas officials), our people were very confident that Mike was not going to be able to do it.”
With Williams and Mitchell no longer in the picture, UC is two scholarships below the limit of 13 for next year.
“We’ve been recruiting a lot of players at different positions,” Cronin said. “We’re really looking forward to the April signing period. We’re getting ready to bring guys in for visits in April.”
This program is still a mess. I thought they would be decent next year but I have realized that Mick is probably screwed.
UC has announced that sophomore guard Alvin Mitchell has been dismissed from the basketball program and that the school has determined that senior forward Mike Williams does not have a case that would net him a sixth year from the NCAA. Mitchell was suspended from the team in February 2008 and was held out of UC's Big East Tournament loss to DePaul on March 10. Williams, who transferred to Texas with two years of eligibility remaining, missed all of last season with a torn Achilles. Counting the transfer year that he sat out, he has exhausted his five-year window to play four years. To gain a sixth year, he would have had to show the NCAA that there was a reason beyond a lack of playing time that caused him to transfer from Texas. UC officials, after investigating his case, have determined that he doesn't have a strong enough case.
Some quotes from Mick on both guys:
On Mitchell: “Alvin made progress. He’s a good kid. It’s the hardest part about coaching when you have personal feelings for somebody the way I do for Alvin. That made this extremely hard, but at the same time I’ve go to do what’s best for our program. We have rules. This is a point where basically Alvin needs a change. I’m sure he’ll get another opportunity. Hopefully it’ll work out for him and he’ll be better for this experience. I have to do what’s best for our program. At some point, somebody becomes too much of a distraction and you have to make a change.”
On Williams: “He’s got a chance to explore his options to make money. Mike’s got a family. If we’re 99 percent sure he’s not going to win an appeal there’s no point dragging Mike’s life out. The basis for Mike’s appeal would have been he would have had to have extenuating circumstances for why he left Texas. He would have gotten the medical year. After talking to (Texas officials), our people were very confident that Mike was not going to be able to do it.”
With Williams and Mitchell no longer in the picture, UC is two scholarships below the limit of 13 for next year.
“We’ve been recruiting a lot of players at different positions,” Cronin said. “We’re really looking forward to the April signing period. We’re getting ready to bring guys in for visits in April.”
This program is still a mess. I thought they would be decent next year but I have realized that Mick is probably screwed.